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AME- from this commodity, even allowing it to be sold at the RICA. low price of six piastres each bushel.

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Amongst the herbs for dyeing, and which are exPolitical ceedingly numerous, those most worthy of notice are Moral the anil, or indigo, and the cochineal. The latter, how ever, is not a plant, but an insect growing upon a plant called nopal, which, with the exception of the leaves, resembles in every respect the tunas of Andalusia.

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The insect resembles in shape the lady-bird, and, when arrived at its full size, is no larger than a flea. It feeds and lives on the nopal, and deposists its eggs on the leaves. The juice of this plant, which is its only moisture, is converted into its own substance; and, instead of being fluid and aqueous, assumes a beautiful carmine hue. In the months of May and June, the ineal. plant is in the most vigorous state, and this is the most favourable time for depositing on the leaves the almost imperceptible eggs; a task which the Indians perform with the most wonderful patience; and, in the short space of two months, it arrives at the state we have mentioned; but, in the mean time, it is exposed to a multiplicity of dangers. The northern blasts and violent showers of rain carry away the eggs, and the frost withers and destroys the leaves; nor are there any other means of preventing these calamities, than by making fires at some distance, and filling the air with smoke, which preserves them from the inclemency of the weather. They are exposed to no less danger from different birds which hunt after them, and from the grubs which are engendered in the nopal; and, notwithstanding the greatest vigilance to prevent these disasters, the loss is very great. When the insects have attained their full size, they are gathered into glass vessels, taking care not to let them fall; but of this there is no danger when they are at liberty on the leaves, on which they enjoy a most delicious food, as if in their own habitations, skipping from one leaf to another without leaving the plant, so that it is no unusual thing to see the leaves entirely covered with insects. After they have been in the glass vessel some time, they die, and are put into bags. The Indians have three different methods of killing them; one with hot water, another by fire, and, thirdly, by exposing them to the sun; and hence proceed the different degrees of colour, which is sometimes dark, at others very lively, it being always necessary to proportion the heat, and those who make use of hot water know the precise point to which it should be heated. Those who prefer fire are also very particular that the heat be moderate, and the fineness of the cochineal, in this case, depends upon the vessel not being heated at the time the insect dies. But, according to the general opinion, the method of exposing them to the sun is the best. Besides, the precaution in killing the insect, a knowledge of the proper time when they ought to be taken off the leaves, is not less necessary to preserve their quality, and experience alone can teach the culti vator this necessary criterion for which no fixed rule can be given. Hence it happens that, in those provinces where the cochineal is cultivated, the inhabitants of one village differ from those of another in the signs which they require for gathering them; and it frequently happens that two in the same village do not agree. The cochineal, in some respects, may be compared with the silkworm, particularly in depositing its eggs. The insects reserved for this purpose are caught at their full growth, and put into a box tightly closed, and

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in this prison they deposit their eggs and die. The S. AMEboxes are kept shut till the time for placing the eggs on the nopal, and the quantity contained in the shell of a hen's egg is sufficient to cover a whole tree. most singular circumstance attending the insect is, that it does not injure, in the smallest degree, the plant on which it feeds, only extracting from between the slender tegument of the leaf the most succulent part of the juice. The principal places in America in which the cochineal is cultivated, are Oaxaca, Xaxcala, Cholula, New Galicia, in the kingdom of Mexico, in Guatimala, and Chiapa, in Loxa and Ambuto, in the kingdom of Quito, and in Tucuman, and some other provinces of Peru. But the greatest quantity is produced in Oaxaca, as the inhabitants of all the towns make this their only employ, and carry on a very extensive trade in this article.

The indigo plant is about two feet high, and has Indigo, round leaves: the nil which is extracted from the leaves, differs from that which is procured from the branches; the first kind is distinguished by the name of Serguise, from the village where it is prepared, situated a few leagues from Surat, in the East Indies. The nil is prepared in the following manner: when it begins to lose its foliage the plant is cut, and the collateral branches are stripped off and put into a sufficient quantity of water, in a hogshead, and left in infusion from thirty to thirty-six hours; afterwards the vessel is somewhat inclined, so that the water, which has already. assumed a green colour, almost approaching to blue, may ooze into a vat; then with poles, in the form of a pestle, capped with iron, it is agitated and churned till the surface is covered with scum. In this state they infuse a proportionable quantity of oil of olives; one pound of oil is sufficient for the liquor extracted from seventy pounds of nil. After it has undergone, this operation, the scum, which resembles the froth of milk, is taken off, and the liquor is left to settle. When it has remained in this state a competent time, the cock is opened, and the water runs off, leaving the dregs in the bottom like lees of wine. The sediment is then put into small linen bags till the water ceases to flow. Finally, it is placed in shallow wooden boxes, and the nil is prepared. When the top of the nil is covered with a dark violet colour, it never fails to be good. There are several methods of judging of its quality if the surface of the water be of a dark violet colour; if the nil, when stirred gently with a nail, yield a copper colour, rather inclining to red; if when broken it neither moulder into dust, nor discover any white particleswithin, it never fails to be of a genuine kind. The second species is prepared in the same manner as the former, with this exception, that the leaves and branches make part of the composition. The best kind comes from Guatimala. When it is melted in the fire like wax, and leaves little recrement behind, it is an evident sign that the nil is good. That which comes from St. Domingo resembles the former, except that it has not such a lively colour, yet for its good quality it holds the second rank; that of Jamaica the third, and that from the Windward islands the fourth; all of which are esteemed in proportion to their cleanness and purity. – It is used in the composition of dyes, and by washerwomen to give a fine colour to their linen. Painters pound it with white lead, because of itself it turns. black; when mixed with yellow it becomes a beautiful

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S. AME- green. Confectioners and apothecaries use it to give a blue colouring to their respective conserves, and to tinge their syrup with violet. In New Spain, they call Political the plant guiquiliti; or, more properly, huiquilit.

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Mica.

The membraneous mica, otherwise nursery-grass, State. is also found here in the greatest perfection, both with respect to its transparency and the size of its lamina. The country people make artificial flowers of it, and, like the Russians, use it for windows, the thin plates which it forms being preferable to glass, from their being pliable and less fragile, and possess ing, what appears to be a peculiar property, of freely admitting the light, and a view of external objects to those within, whilst persons without are prevented from seeing any thing in the house.

Gums.

Balsam of Tolu.

Bark.

An infinite number of the trees exude gums of a resinous, mucilaginous, and balsamic nature; among these may be enumerated the liquid-ambar steracifluum, of two species, the croton sanguinium, yielding the gum called dragon's blood, and of which there are three species, the dividivi, a tree like the tamarind, and affording an excellent black dye; the storax officinalis, exuding through its pores a fragrant gum of this name, which is used for incense in churches, and is also of use in pectoral complaints; the aloes, of great medicinal virtues, and of which there are seven or eight species; the anime, called by the French curbaril, and which, dissolved in spirits of wine, has been found effectual against the gout and nervous complaints; and the sarsaparilla, the sassafras, and the guaiacum, an infusion of which is so often used for purifying the blood, and which has been found peculiarly efficacious in venereal complaints, but it must be taken regularly for forty days to produce any good effect, at the rate of one pound per day, the patient using for his ordinary drink a weaker portion of the same decoction.

The famous balsam of Tolu takes its name from a town so called in New Granada. It is a resinous, dry, solid gum, of a bright yellow colour; it is of an agreeable scent and good taste, in which last particular it differs from other balsams, which are sour and bitter. It is procured, by incision, from a tree resembling a small fir, whose leaves are always green. This balsam is greatly esteemed, and is brought into Europe in small cocoa-nut shells, about the size of a lemon, and possesses the same virtues as the balsam of Gilead. In the Pharmacopeia of London, it enters into the composition of balsams; but its principal virtue consists in curing the greatest wounds with wonderful celerity. The Peruvian bark, so famous at present for curing intermittent fevers, is peculiar to this country. It is distinguished into three kinds-red, yellow, and white; but the red is found to be the best and most efficacious. The Jesuits carried this bark to Rome as early as 1639, but the natives are supposed to have been acquainted with its medicinal qualities many ages before. Amongst the other medicinal plants, ought not to be omitted the calaquala, the decoction of which is the most powerful specific known for extracting bad humours; the accinchinali, of wonderful virtue in dissolving and expelling extravasated blood, and healing internal wounds; the maguey and guayaba, of similar virtues; the canchalagua, and the culen, both extraordinary fine vermifuges, the former being also a good antiscorbutic, and useful in the quartan ague, not to mention others indispensible in our Pharmaco

peia, or necessary to our comforts, such as jalap, s. A tobacco, ginger, pimento, &c.

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In the southern provinces, where the moisture of the climate is aided by the warmth of the sun, the woods Politics are almost impervious, and the surface of the ground and Me is hid from the eye under a thick covering of shrubs, of herbs, and weeds. In other parts, although the forests are not encumbered with the same wild luxuriance of vegetation, the trees of various species are generally more lofty, and often much larger, than are to be seen in any other parts of the world. The trees are often so thick as to afford 600 planks, Forest each of twenty feet long and of one foot and a half in width, and some have measured twenty-four yards in circumference. In Chili alone there are known ninetyseven different kinds of trees, only thirteen of which shed their leaves: amongst the plants of that kingdom there are 3,000 not mentioned in botanical works. Of all the trees in America the largest is the ceiba (bombax ceiba). It produces a sort of white wool, very fine and soft, which they apply to several purposes. A very brisk trade is carried on in this article in the district of Puerto Viego, in the province of Guayaquil and kingdom of Quito. Of the tree they make boats of one entire piece. In Darien is a hollow tree of this species, in which twenty persons have sat down to dinner. The quebrachs, or break-hatchet, takes its name from its excessive hardness: there are two species, red and white. In Buenos Ayres they make of this wood axletrees for the carts, which, in Tucuman, sometimes cost 1,800 or 2,000 piastres, on account of the great difficulty and expence of the carriage; but they last for ever, and the expence which has once been made need never be renewed.

The mangle is a tall, bulky tree, which grows spon- Man taneously near the sea-coast; the wood is very strong and straight, and therefore much used in building houses. Lemori says there are three species. The largest is 25 feet high, and 20 inches in diameter. The manner in which this tree grows is very astonishing: from the branches, which are flexible, high, and long, there issue small bunches of filaments, which reach the ground, spread, and strike, and, in a short time, become as large as the tree from which they proceeded; in this manner they increase in such a degree, that whole woods spring from a single tree; and Frazer, in the account of his voyage, says, that in the island of Cayenne, the creeks are grown over with mangles, and that the oysters adhere to the trunks and to the branches which hang downward and are covered by the tide, and there breed. The wood of the mangle is solid, heavy, and has very long close grains, and is used in making boats; the leaves resemble those of the pear-tree; the flowers are small, and are succeeded by berries similar in outward appearance to those of the cassia. These berries are filled with a pulp like marrow, of a bitter taste: some Indians eat it, when they cannot procure better food. The root is soft, and is used by fishermen to cure the bites of venomous animals. These trees are so thick and their roots so interwoven, that in many places you may walk 20 leagues without touching the ground. The roots are a great hindrance to fishermen's boats, and afford a safe asylum to the fish.

The maragnon, producing a fruit so called, is the size of an apple-tree; the fruit is acid and fibrous, and

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ME extracted by suction: they make furniture of the timA. ber. The mata-palo, in the beginning, is only a shrub or twig, always growing near some other tree, round ical which it entwines, and, by its malignant influence, deprives it of all its sap, and prevents it from receiving any more from the earth, and in time dries it up, however strong it may have been, whilst itself continues to increase till it becomes a large tree. Some are 20 geometrical feet in circumference, and are made into canoes. This tree, in Guayaquil, distils a kind of gum, possessing great virtues for healing ruptures. There are five species of mata-palos, which bear a near resemblance to each other.

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The pinus cupressoides of America much resembles the European fir, but is of a distinct species. It sometimes grows to such a size, that it measures 90 feet in circumference. The wood is chiefly used in building, on account of its durability. It is transported from the island of Chiloe, where it principally abounds, and forms a very lucrative branch of commerce to Peru. One of these trees contains, in general, from 6 to 800 boards, 20 feet long and half a yard broad. The inhabitants of these islands are so dexterous in the partition of these trees, that they will divide them without the least waste. Molina says, that hogsheads made of this wood will preserve water during a voyage at sea free from corruption.

The Brazil wood derives its name from the country in which it grows. It is found in the greatest abundance, and is of the best quality, in the province of Pernambuco; but it is also found in many other parts of the western hemisphere, and in the East Indies. It generally grows in uncultivated lands and craggy rocks. The tree is large, crooked, and knotty; the leaves are of a beautiful red, and exhale an agreeable odour. Notwithstanding its apparent bulk, the bark is so thick, that a tree as large as a man's body with the bark, will not be so thick as the leg, when pealed. The wood is cut into large pieces, without the rind, and is a considerable article of commerce amongst the Portuguese. When cut into chips, it loses the pale colour which it before had, and becomes red, and, when chewed, has a sweet taste. It is used for various purposes by cabinet-makers, and admits of a beautiful varnish; but its principal use is in dyeing red, and though the colour is liable to decay, yet, by mixing with it alum and tartar, it is easily made permanent: they also make of it, by means of acids, a sort of liquid lac, or carmine, for painting in miniature.

A great deal of mahogany is found about the bay of Honduras, and about the isthmus of Panama, though it is indeed common to all the provinces of South America, and in some grows to an excessive size. From that procured at Panama you may make tables five yards long and two and a half broad of one board. When grown on a barren soil it is hard and of a close grain, and more finely variegated than when it proceeds from damp lands. The lignum vitæ, chiefly peculiar to the island of Jamaica, is not wanting on this continent, though it is thought to have come originally from Canada certain it is that one species of it is found in China.

MINERALS. The minerals of South America form one of the most important and distinguishing features of this continent. Its mines of silver and of gold, as

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we have already seen, are richer than any others in the S. AMEwhole world, besides which it abounds in minerals of RICA. copper, lead, tin, quicksilver, brimstone, loadstone, and coal. Iron-mines are very rare, though some indications Political of this metal are found in various parts, particularly in and Moral Chili. The quicksilver necssary for the working of the metals is also more abundant in that kingdom, and the scarcity of it in some parts of other mining districts, as well in Mexico as in Peru, prevents the whole advantages which might otherwise be derived from the inexhaustible sources of wealth, of which the greater portion of this continent, particularly that in and bordering on the Andes, may literally be said to be composed.

It is impossible to give in this short compass an Stones and account of the infinite variety of stones and fossils fossils. with which this country abounds: vast numbers of them have never been known to naturalists, so as to be classed in their works; but, amongst those of a more curious nature, we may particularize a few. The piedra de cruz, or stone of the cross, very much resembles green marble, and is chiefly found in the new kingdom of Granada. In whatever direction this stone be broken, it displays a black cross perfectly drawn, and it is said by the natives to possess a singular virtue in curing the rheum and fevers. The great abundance of this stone makes it very common, and of little value. M. Bomare says that it appears to be a sort of madrepore fossil, whose veins cross each other in such a manner, that whether they are cut horizontally or vertically, there is the figure of a cross, nature filling up the spaces with a hard argillaceous earth. The same author asserts, that the same stone is found in Portugal, Santoigne, Normandy, and Guienne, and particularly near Santiago in Galicia; and that the Spanish silversmiths enchase them in gold and silver. The girasol is a precious stone, also found in Granada, partly transparent and partly opaque. It has a milky look, emits a weak lustre blended with blue and yellow, and it sometimes has the colour of the rainbow, or a gilt colour. When cut in the form of a sphere or semi-sphere, it reflects the rays of light every way, but not so well as the opal. It is as yet uncertain whether this stone be a species of the opal or caledonia. The most beautiful are of a milk-white colour, shaded with blue and yellow beautifully intermixed. This stone, which is harder than the opal, is brought from the east, but those of a softer nature from the west. They are to be met with in the island of Cyprus, Galicia, Hungary, Bohemia, as well as in several parts of America. Sometimes they are found together, with the opal inclosed in another red tender stone, clouded with black. The name girasol was given to this stone by the Italians. There is a green stone, called chalchihuites, found in the silver-mines in the kingdom of New Galicia, to which they attribute the virtue of alleviating the pain of the hip-gout, or sciatica. The ancient Americans held these stones in great esteem. They vary in colour, but the most esteemed are green, of which there is a large altar-stone in the cathedral in the town of Puebla de los Angelos.

The Spaniards find on this continent, as also on the sand of the sea-shore of the island of Dominica, a small stone, shaped like a lentil, which they call limpia-ojos, or eye-cleaner. It is put under the eye-lid, and by the

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S. AME- motion of the eye is carried round the ball, extracting in its way any matter or body that may have got into the eye, and comes out afterwards of its own accord. Political The mineral naptha, is of a liquid consistency, clear, pellucid, of a strong scent, and very inflammable, and, when pure, burns without leaving any residuum. It is found in large quantities on the surface of fountains, at the foot of some mountains in Persia, Tartary, and China; and if a light be applied to the surface of the water, it burns for a considerable time, emitting a very offensive smell. Genuine naphta is very scarce in Europe, and we are as yet ignorant whether it be found in any part of it, that which we have being counterfeit. In America, it is found in the province of Piura, in the kingdom of Peru. When distilled in the alembic it gives an oil, more liquid than the substance, and of a weaker smell. What remains after distillation is very much like amber, and Dr. Hill supposes it has the same principle. He also says, that with an acid extracted from crude marcasite, he has made of this fluid a pellucid and ductile substance, which had all the properties of amber, except consistency and brightness, which produced, by distillation, true salt and oil of amber. The medicinal virtues of naptha are the same as those of the common petroleum, but less active. The Persians use it both interiorly and exteriorly, taking a few drops for the cholic; but its chief use is for the lamp.

Quadrupeds.

Of the aetites, or eagle-stone, well known in Europe, there are great quantities in Peru, particularly in the province of Huamalies, where there is a complete bed of them. This stone is of a feruginous nature, and has a cavity within, sometimes full and sometimes empty, and of various figures. Some are round or oval; others again are of a triangular, square, or flat form: the superfices are sometimes smooth and sometimes rough. It was an ancient opinion, that it derived its name eagle-stone from being found in an eagle's nest, and that it had a power of preventing abortion.

The huano, which, according to prevalent opinion, was esteemed nothing but the dung of a bird of that name, bred in the small islands situate in the South sea, is now pronounced by naturalists, and most incontestibly proved, to be a fossil earth. In the province of Costa it is used to fertilize the land. One handful of this earth, strewed about the roots of a plant of Indian wheat, makes it grow with such vigour, that it produces two hundredfold. In this manner an incredible quantity of this fossil is consumed. The province of Chancay alone draws from these islands annually 90,000 bushels of huano, and others consume as much in proportion. There is also another earth found here, very analogous to the kaolin of the Chinese; another kind called kovo, producing an excellent black dye, is also found in Chili, and is represented by Feuille and Frazier as superior to the best European blacks.

QUADRUPEDS.-The quadrupeds of America are as numerous, in proportion, as any other part of the living creation in those regions. Those introduced from Europe have, we have already seen, increased and multiplied beyond all example, so that in the provinces of La Plata, in particular, it is impossible for any one to distinguish what animals do or do not belong to himself; and thus each, when he wants horses, goes out and catches as many as he wants, or kills as many

oxen as he requires, though from the latter nothing is a taken but the hide, whilst the carcase is left to birds of RICA prey.

The goat has thriven very well, but the sheep have Pa degenerated, and their wool has become extremely ut coarse, excepting in Chili, where it is as fine as ever. The horses and mules are distinguished for being very sure-footed and active. The horned cattle have acquired much in point of size, while their flesh has become more palatable and nutritive. The sheep breed twice a year, and generally have twins. Their fleeces yield annually from ten to fifteen pounds of wool each. The common price of cattle throughout the country is from fifteen to twenty francs, but in the sea-ports, the price is fixed, by an ancient regulation, at ten crowns, of which the commandant of the port receives four and the owner six.

It is somewhat remarkable that none of the fe rocious animals found here assimilate to the lion, the tiger, the wolf, &c. of the old continent. Though under the influence of a similar climate to Africa, even the climate of Peru and of Caracas produce nothing more like the lion than the puma (felis onza sive jaguara), being equal to its prototype neither in size, fierceness, colour, nor name. Its head, indeed, has some resem blance to that of the lion and tiger. The tail is shorter than that of either of the two last-mentioned animals; it climbs trees, and is at the same time both timid and cowardly, and flies at the sight of a man, so that it does not differ less from the real lion in its natural disposi tions, than in the shape of its body in other respects; we have not a complete description of this animal: Modern naturalists place it in the genus of the felices, and in the species of jaguara, which they believe is the ounce of the ancients.

The beast most resembling the tiger is the cunaguaris Ca (felis onza), found chiefly in the province of Guaiana: it bears a near resemblance in its shape, actions, and dispositions, and can only be distinguished from it in the size, which is less, and in the difference of the ground brown colour of the spots. It is also called cat, and lobo cerbal, or hart-wolf; it is very like the wild cat, and of the size of a common dog; it feeds on prey like the tiger, and may be tamed if taken young, but it is always necessary to have it chained during the night, or it would destroy all the hens and turkeys that may come in its way. Of all the quadrupeds pertaining to the order of wild beasts, the mochilera (dilelphis marsupialis) is, perhaps, the most peculiar to South America. These animals have ten fore teeth in the upper mandible, and eight in the lower; the grinders are large, the tongue grained; and it has a pouch formed by the folding of the skin of the belly, in which it preserves its young, and opens and shuts at pleasure by means of the union of several muscles, and of two bones situated before the pubis. The interior of this pouch is filled with small glands containing a yellow substance, which gives the whole body a fetid smell, but when taken out and dried loses the nauseous odour and acquires that of musk. This animal is a native of South America. It is said that the female brings forth five, six, or seven at a birth, and that as soon as they are born she deposits them in her pouch, and continues to suckle them in it till they can walk. When the young are frightened, they instantly shut themselves in the pouch. The mo

ME- tion of this animal is so slow that a man may easily CA. catch it without running; but they climb trees with great facility, and hide themselves in the leaves, or tical hang by the tail from the branches. Though it is a Moral carnivorous animal it feeds on fruit, sugar-canes, and te. leaves. There are five species, which differ from each other merely in point of size; they are found in almost every part of America.

ita.

The anta (tapir bris), also peculiar to America, is about the size of a calf of two months old: it has neither tail nor horns; its head is large and fleshy, the trunk strong and nervous; eyes small, legs short, and body arched like a hog. It inhabits the mountains and dry places, and is a great friend to cleanliness: when hard pressed by the dogs it makes to some river, and swims with amazing rapidity till it finds a safe asylum ou the opposite banks. Its aversion to light makes it retire into the thickets. Its hide is ball-proof, and its flesh insipid, yet the Indians eat it, and when young and tender, is by some esteemed very delicate. The anta is found in every part of America, and is sometimes tamed. The Brazilians call it tapir; the Peruvians, ahuara; the Portuguese, anta; and the Spaniards, danta, or great beast. Many have erroneously inferred, from the multiplicity of names, that there are two distinct species. But the most ferocious animal found in these regions is the famacosio (felis famococius) chiefly found in Paraguay. In figure and bulk it resembles the mastiff, and its head is like that of a tiger; it has no tail: in swiftness and ferocity it is matchless. If any person comes within view of this animal, he may reckon himself as become a secure prey to it, unless he have the opportunity of climbing into a tree to evade its pursuit. When thus disappointed the animal rears his fore feet against the tree, and roars hideously till others come to his assistance; then they gnaw the tree about the root till it falls to the ground. If the distressed fugitive has no arms to kill them, his death is inevitable. To diminish them the Mannacicas Indians, where they are most abundant, enclose themselves in a circumvallation of palisadoes, and begin to bellow till these animals, attracted by their cries, crowd to them, and begin to gnaw the stakes to find an entrance. Whilst they are thus employed, the Indians shower their arrows upon them with such skill and dexterity that they never let one escape. In this manner they kill great numbers.

In Guaiana is found the rabo pelado, or naked-tail, a ravenous animal, of the vulpine species, which is also naturally ferocious, though it principally feeds on birds, seldom appearing abroad in the day. The females have under the belly a sort of pouch, hairy in the inside and close, in which they nurse and carry their young, which are generally attached to the paps, inclosed within the pouch, and do not quit their hold till they can follow the mother. The tail, when reduced to a powder and given in a quantity of about two scruples, possesses great virtue in destroying viscosities in the bladder and kidneys. According to William Pison, there are two other species, less than the one described. The most rare species is about the size of a young cat of two months old, which has a bag at the bottom of the neck, which it fills with maize.

There is an animal of the pig kind, the sus tajacu of Linnæus, called the pig of the woods, which has an aperture on its back, whence it emits a most intolerable stench when closely pursued. If, on killing the animal,

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State,

the part be instantaneously cut out, the flesh affords S. AME good eating; but should that operation be neglected, RICA. even for a short period, the taint contaminates the whole carcase. The domestic pigs are by no means good, for they feed so much upon beef that their flesh is very hard and coarse. There is an animal of the opossum kind, about the size of a rabbit, called a zurilla, the skin of which is streaked black and white, and is considered of some value. When attacked, it ejects a fetid liquor, which is of so pungent a nature that if it falls on any part of the dress of its pursuers, there is no possibility of getting rid of the stench but by continual exposure to the weather for some months. The zurilla is very fond of eggs and poultry, and sometimes enters a house in quest of its prey; the inhabitants immediately hasten out and leave their unwelcome visitant in quiet possession as long as she chooses to stay; well aware that the slightest attempt to drive her out would expose them to an ejectment from the premises for ever.

The alpaca, which may be esteemed a subaltern Alpaca. species of the camel kind, is a quadruped peculiar to Peru and Chili; it only differs from that animal in its size and compactness. The neck is long, the head small, the ears large, the eyes round and big, the beard short, and the upper lip a little open. Its legs are rather long in proportion to its bulk, its hoof cloven, and its tail long; its hair is long and rather coarser than that of the vicunna, but fit for spinning: in the parts of generation it also resembles the camel, male and female. Like that ruminating animal, it has four ventricles. The second contains between two ventricles, of which it is composed, a number of cavities calculated to deposit water. This animal, like the camel, is domable, and will carry from seven to nine stone; it will fall on its knees for the convenient reception and exoneration of its burden. The shape and disposition of the hoof, and the closeness of the hair, will admit neither shoe nor harness; they are slow, but sure-footed even in the most rugged roads. Notwithstanding the great resemblance which the paca bears to the camel, it has some peculiarities which distinguish it from that animal. Destined to inhabit the mountain, amidst snow and ice, it has received from nature many advantages which enable it to endure its hard fate. Like the quadrupeds of the polar regions, it has a great thickness of fat between the skin and the flesh; and so great is the fluxion of blood in its veins, that the most intense colds are incapable of penetrating it; the enormous load of fat with which it is endowed, prevents the blood from being consumed by the excessive heat of the sun. In the ventricle are formed five bezoar stones. The under mandible, like that of the camel, is furnished with six incisors, two canine teeth, and several grinders; but in the upper jaw, the two first kinds of teeth are wanting, in which respect it differs from the camel kind. The ears are pointed, and better made than those of the camel; its nose is simple, its neck straight and well-proportioned, its tail beautiful, and adorned with long hair as soft as wool; it makes a noise like the neighing of a horse. When irritated, it neither assails with its mouth nor heels, but ejects from its nostrils some viscosities on the offender. Some have erroneously asserted, that this viscous matter creates the itch.

The vicunna, though erroneously considered by Count Vicunna.

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